The desire of the Russians to press west and south put them on a collision with German speaking peoples in Germany and the Balkans, leading to those nations fighting in both world wars. Japan, being a small island nation with few natural resources, desired national security too. They sought to gain this by control of surrounding territories such as Korea, Philippines, north China, and Southeast Asia. Being isolated for centuries prior to 1870, these goals were fairly recent in the national philosophy, contrasted with the various European goals which had been around for centuries. They were thus rather easily discarded by the populace following the defeat of 1945.
Germany at the time was the most powerful single country in Europe, but it’s weak allies required Germany’s support on their various fronts. Italy refused to enter WW1 and remained neutral. The lure of territorial gains convinced Italy to side with the Allies in May 1915. Russia had an alliance with Serbia and that brought the military efforts of both nations together to fight against the Central Powers. The core of the Allies was the treaty between France and Russia.
As the war drew on, other weapons such as gas and tanks were used by the Germans for the first time at the First Battle of Ypres in 1915, and became a major tool of warfare on the Western Front. Tanks were used by the British for the first time at the Battle of the Somme in 1916 to little effect, but following technological innovation were crucial tot e success of the Allied counter offensive in 1918. The stalemate was eventually broken by a shift in tactics and strategies. Unlike preceding campaigns, the Ludendorff offensive was able to retain the element of surprise by not employing pre-emptive artillery barrage. This, coupled with the use of highly trained storm troopers meant that the Germans were able to make significant gains in
Trotsky described war as the ‘locomotive of history’. How far can it be argued that change in Russia in the period 1855-1964 was caused only by involvement in wars? During this period the biggest change that happened was the move from Tsarist autocracy to communist dictatorship as well as the short lived provisional government, which was a form of democracy. Furthermore there were changes to economic policy, which had a great impact on society. The wars that occurred did bring change but were not the only causes of change.
Contrastingly, James Joll suggests that Germany’s defensive offensive war rooted from a fear of encirclement from the countries that it borders, and so presents the opinion most opposing to that of the question. L.F.C Turner’s opinion arises somewhere between the two other historians’ arguments, and states that Germany was aggressive during Europe’s last month of peace before war, but there were other factors that should be considered equally. On the one hand, it was German aggression that was responsible for the outbreak of a general European war in August 1914. One example of suggested German aggression can be seen in their long term foreign policy, ‘weltpolitik’ (world politics), which had been implemented in 1897. The aim of this foreign policy was to spread German influence throughout the world, the meaning of which is interpreted differently by different people.
The Allied forces were to busy worrying about there offensives and were caught off guard. Eventually the allies won but it was a very hard battle for them to win. The Ardennes Offense was what the United States army called it but it becomes popularly called the Battle of the Bulge. The Germans called it Unternehmen Wacht is Rhein, which
Paying less attention to armchair generals writing with the privilege of hindsight and precise archival evidence in favor of what the generals perceived would happen in 1914 (which incidentally is much closer to reality than is attributed...every serious thinker knew it would be a bloodbath) offers much more valuable insight into the crisis that faced the statesmen in July 1914. Michael Howard and Steve Van Evera (both found in Military Strategy and the Origins of the First World War) accurately conclude because the offensive was believed to a decisive advantage, if there was a window for a diplomatic solution, it was frighteningly small. Understanding the "Cult of the Offensive" is crucial for comprehending how quickly July 1914 destabilized; generals truly believed their empires would crumble if attacked and politicians were tempted by the notion that fortune favors the foolish. Finally, James Joll convincingly argues that the pervasiveness of the "cult of the offensive" and the glorification of military matters was implicit in a society replete with military
Zinoviev’s Letter Munich agreement September 1938 Appeasement policy Conclusion v Regardless of the war, a Cold War scenario was inevitable due to Political, economic and ideological differences. v WW II only intensified a previously existing problem Word Count: 1974 Karan Agarwal 12 E The era post World War two saw great dominance by the USA and the USSR as they possessed greater economic and military might than any other countries in the world at the time. Britain, France and Germany, the pre-war powers lay in ruins at the end of 1945, therefore allowing their dominance and power to shift to the USA and USSR. Bernard Baruch coined the term ‘Cold War’ during a congressional debate in 1947 stating that the situation was just
When Hitler became the chancellor of Germany, he issued conscription and also began to rearm his army and build up his army capacity in order to invade both countries such as Czechoslovakia and Poland. In conclusion , even though increased militarism was one of the reasons why the second world war started , it was not the main cause of it. I believed that Britain and France hadn’t followed the policy of Appeasement, Hitler would not have the confidence to implement his plans to take over Eastern Europe. By allowing Hitler to reoccupy the Rhineland (which was against the Treaty of Versailles) Britain and France gave the impression that they were weak, and this allow Hitler to rebuild his army to invade other countries. (Note: the title is from a gcse paper but the essay is
Russia’s early hopes were soon dashed however. Russia’s best chance of victory came at the very beginning of the war when a large number of German troops were invading Belgium and France, but instead of ceasing this opportunity the Russian generals blundered into defeat after defeat. Russia’s dreams of a swift victory were all but crushed in the Tannenberg and Masurian disasters that set the stage for further defeats in 1915. The First World War was a new type of war, a war dominated by modern technology, technology that the Russians were struggling with. Meanwhile the Germans were making massive advancements in both new technology and it’s utilisation but also the strategic aspects of